Under unfounded pretexts, the Washington embassy in Havana has closed its consular services and despite a recent announcement that it will gradually resume them, new visas are still being stymied.
Five years ago, the US government failed to meet its commitment to issue 20,000 annual visas under bilateral agreements, and the few it issues through third countries are even subject to restrictions like those granted in the entry-only visitor category the land is granted.
At the same time, there is evidence that governments in the region are being pressured to require visas from Cubans in transit, leading to discriminatory treatment of those born on the Caribbean island.
Encouraged by Cuba’s adjustment law, which is unique in the world, many citizens join irregular migration routes in Central America, where they face violence, fraud and corruption at the hands of drug and human trafficking groups.
According to Cuban authorities, 1,680 citizens from the United States, Mexico, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have been returned to the island by sea and air so far this year.
US federal sources recently reported that from October 2021 to the end of February 2022, more than 46,000 Cubans arrived overland at the US-Mexico border after traveling irregularly.
Meanwhile, the embassy in Havana continues with its limited services and the current US administration keeps other coercive measures in place restricting travel, including restricting flights from the United States only to the Cuban capital or not renewing airline licenses and shipping companies.
Under the mandate of Donald Trump, more than 200 measures have been taken to intensify the blockade, around 60 at the most critical stage of the impact of Covid-19, which has put pressure on the Cuban economy.
As in the past since the victory of the revolution, the US government is using the personal or economic motives that are the main motives for Cuban migrants to manipulate and misinform them as part of a strategy to provoke social chaos and discouragement.
With its irresponsible stance, Washington creates conditions conducive to migration but closes the doors on the citizen to do so on a regular basis.
The Cuban authorities successively declared that they support orderly and safe migration and the willingness to engage in dialogue so that a process that constitutes a human right can be exercised without obstacles or manipulation.
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